A Terrific Roman Treble – Three Restaurants to Plan Your Day Around

Rome is a city of two extremes when it comes to food – complete tourist traps vs some of the best dishes you’ll ever eat.

Wander far enough and you’ll stumble across a proper plate of pasta or a slice of pizza that makes you wish you’d ordered two. But if you want to avoid dining disappointment, it’s worth being a bit more deliberate.

These three restaurants are very different from one another, yet all deliver that comforting sense that you’re getting a proper Roman experience.

Rocco Ristorante

Cosy, central and quietly dependable

Rocco Ristorante is a family-run restaurant and a neighbourhood favourite. The sort of place you might stumble into after a day of sightseeing and end up recommending to friends when you get home.

The trattoria is warm and welcoming, with a relaxed buzz that is informal yet feels special. Pasta is the star, but there’s plenty else to tempt you, especially if you’re in the mood for a recommendation from your waiter.

The menu changes daily and is written on a chalkboard, so it’s hard to point to a single dish, but the tiramisu is always available. Order it, you won’t be disappointed.

But check the fixtures. As Roma fans, they may just shut the restaurant if there’s a big game on, like they did for the Europa League final a few seasons ago.

Via Giovanni Lanza, 93, 00184 Roma
Open: 12:50pm to 3pm, 7:50pm to 10pm, Mon to Sat

Il Grottino a Testaccio

For when you want Rome to feel unapologetically Roman

Testaccio is one of those neighbourhoods that still feels like it belongs to the people who live there, not the people passing through. Il Grottino fits right in. It’s informal, a bit scruffy around the edges, and gloriously confident in what it does.

This is classic Roman cooking without the fuss. Think hearty pasta dishes, paper-thin pizza bases, and portions that suggest no one here believes in leaving hungry.

The atmosphere is lively and local, with pizza chefs putting on a show and a steady queue of hungry diners lining up outside. It’s the kind of place where you sit down for an early evening meal, and somehow it’s midnight before you leave. Pasta is around €10, pizzas start at €6.50, and tiramisu is €5.

Come hungry, order instinctively, and don’t overthink it. Il Grottino lives up to the hype – goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini, who signed for Roma in 2025, certainly thinks so.

Via Marmorata – open 7:30 pm to 12:30 am every day except Tuesdays

Armando al Pantheon

Old-school charm, just a stone’s throw from the crowds

It feels like a huge feat to get a reservation at this restaurant. Take a look at the Book A Table section on their website, and you would be let off for giving up before you’ve even begun. In short, you need to book well in advance, confirm your reservation and don’t even think about being more than 15 minutes late.

But the rigmarole is more than worth it.

Just a few steps from the Pantheon, an area packed with tourist traps, this place is booked up for a reason.

It’s small, traditional and run with the kind of care that comes from decades of doing things the same way. The menu is limited (which we always consider to be a good thing) and sticks firmly to Roman classics – pasta, seasonal vegetables, simple meat dishes – all done with restraint and confidence. Nothing feels flashy, but everything feels right.

The amatriciana (€16) is the star of the show with braised pork cheek in a silky tomato sauce.

Salita de’ Crescenzi – open 12:30pm to 3pm, 7pm to 11pm, Mon to Sat

Whether you’re deep in a local neighbourhood, dodging crowds near an ancient monument, or somewhere in between, these three restaurants offer a taste of the city that feels honest and deeply satisfying. And really, that’s all you can ask for.